Due to the plethora of specialty stores, publications and television programs that are related to home improvement, renovation and construction, modern consumers are increasingly aware of advancements in technologies relating to the maintenance and operation of homes. One increasingly popular trend in home technology concerns home automation wherein various electrical devices (e.g., lights, stereos) and/or security devices (e.g., motion sensors, alarms) are integrated into a house. Automation systems that are incorporated into newly constructed homes generally tend to utilize one or more discrete systems of control wires that facilitate communication between a controller and the electrical and/or security devices.
When an automation system is to be integrated into an existing house, the installation of a discrete set of control wires can be very complicated and costly, particularly if portions of the house, such as walls and ceilings, become damaged during the installation of the control wires. In view of these difficulties, many products have been developed which utilize the existing AC power distribution wires to facilitate communication between a controller and the electrical and/or security devices. These products typically modulate a control signal over the power wires at a frequency that is well above the conventional 60 Hz frequency of AC electrical power that is carried by the power wires.
The protocol known as “X10” is a common protocol for providing communications between a controller and electrical and security devices over electrical power wires. The X10 signal is composed of a series of 5 volt, 121 kHz pulses having duration of 1 millisecond, positioned at zero crossings of the 60 Hz AC electrical power. Each pulse corresponds to a binary 1, and the absence of a pulse corresponds to a binary 0. A single X10 command or message consists of a 22 bit word that is obtained from eleven complete cycles of the AC electrical power. All X10 receivers that are electrically coupled (i.e., plugged into) the AC electrical power will receive all of the messages that are transmitted over the AC power wires. The receipt of a message by a receiver, however, will not automatically initiate a response in the receiver. In this regard, each message that is transmitted over the AC power lines carries a receipt address and only the X10 receivers whose address matches the receipt address will respond to a message.
While such X10 automation systems are relatively inexpensive and reliable, several drawbacks of the heretofore known X10 automation systems have been identified. One such drawback relates to the set-up of a typical X10 automation system which has been identified by some consumers as being confusing and difficult. In this regard, it is to be noted that up to 256 different addresses may be available in a given home automation system and that the receipt address in the message transmitted by the transmitting device (e.g., the controller) must match the address of the receiving device (e.g., a lamp switch) to permit the receiving device to be controlled in a desired manner. Furthermore, tools, such as screwdrivers, are routinely required to manipulate the switches of the various components of the known home automation systems to set the address of the component to a desired address. Moreover, while all of the known home automation systems include installation directions, their components are not packaged in a manner that renders the installation of their components intuitively obvious so that typical home consumers.
Another drawback concerns the overall appearance of the components of the known X10 automation systems. In this regard, many of the available home automation systems include components having a housing with one or more apertures through which extend addressing switches. The presence of the switches, as well as their labeling, provides the component with an appearance that may not be desirable to the homeowner.
Yet another drawback concerns the relative robustness of the components of the known X10 automation systems. In this regard, the components are generally rated for inside use and are not subjected to the temperature extremes and moisture that are commonly experienced by electrical and security devices that are found or used out of doors.